Metallurgical furnace.



PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

J. G. OROMWELL. METALLURGICAL FURNACE.

A PPLIOATION FILED SEPT.13,1906.

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No. 869,960. I PATEN'I'ED NOV. 5, 1907.

J. O GROMWELL.

METALLURGICAL FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-18, 1906.

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VViineGJGS In dental! ALC CM PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

. J. 0. GROMWIELL. I METALLURGICAL FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 Unrrnr) eraser Parana ora or l JOHN G. CROMWELL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSTGNOR TO THE GARRETT-GROMWELL ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

METALLURGICAL FURNACE improved means. for operating metallurgicalfurnace .doors and, which, while applicable to a larger variety of such furnaces, is more particularly useful in connection with tilting or non-stationary furnaces which cannot have purely mechanical connection for the openrather than a helpful adjunct.

ing and closing of their various doors.

It is common in the art to which this invention relates, to operate the doors by hydraulic means because of certain advantages connected with such a method of operation wellknown to those familiar to such matters, but, as is also well known, it is very difficult to maintain the proper water connections on a movable furnace, and the pivot-jointed pipes project into the space about the furnace in a manner which necessitates making allowance for them and they are regarded as being more in the nature of a necessary'nuisance Further, it has been found in using positive mechanical connections for operating the doors that the heat will expan dcthe connections in such manner as to interfere with their operation in some cases, and in all cases the doors are liable to become jammed in one position (usually that in which they are wide open) due to the failure of a green attendant to stop the operating mechanism at the right point. 9

It is my purpose to provide a structure which is un obtrusive and does not interfere with the surrounding 1 apparatus, which may be applied to any tilting or movable furnace without involving engineering difliculties and which will not be subject to the fault of jamming the doors in any position whether the attendant is careful or not. i

Referring to the various figures illustrating an em bodimentof my invention, Figure l is the front elevation of a portion of a tilting furnace showing five doors each operated by a means which I have designed. Fig. 2 is a detailed elevation partly in section showing one of the operating motors and gear train. 'Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 2 looking from the left, partly in section. Fig, 4 is a top plan of the furnace shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating the line'of connection between the motors and the furnace doors. view partly broken away of the furnace shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the various drawings, it will be seen that the furnace body A has ways in which the doors B may slide up and down the proper distance. Each door Specification of Letters Patent.

.Application filed September 1 06- Serial No. 334401- Fig. 5 is an end Patented Nov. 5, 1907.

is lifted through a chain connection B by an individual motor and is allowed to fall by its own weight. The several motors are hung on thei'rame of the .fur-, nace sothat they move therewith and occupy the same relative position to the other parts in all positions of the furnace, and the individual'motors should be coin V nccted by means of a dragging cable, not shown, with some suitable controlling device accessible to the attendant. It is seen, by referringto Figs/2 and 3, that each motor, through reducing gears C and a worm (-7 operates a wheel 0 having a crank arm C projecting from the shaft thereof to the end of which arm is pivotally connected the chain B which lifts the door which is connected to the door to be controlled by the motor.

Now the parts are so designed and installed that the chain will be of sufficient length to permit a door at its lowest point to rest upon the sill of its frame. When it is desired to.open the door, the motor is started and the crank arm will start to revolve, drawing the door up until the crank arm occupies the radial position at 180 to the line of pull of the chain. The door is then wide open and the motor should be stopped at this point. But, if, through lack of understanding or inattention on the part of the attendant, the motor is not stopped, the further operationthereof will notlift the door higher and jam it against the frame and thus cause it to either stick there or offer such a resistance to th motor as to endanger the latter, but the motor will con tinue to operate and the crank arm will revolve, with the result that the door will be lowered and ultimately, closed if the motor is allowed to'run. lt is obvious that neither the door nor the operating motor can be endangered by any carelessness on the part of the op erating attendant, and that the manner of operation is such that no abnormal situation of affairs can occur without it being called to the attention of any person who happens to be in the vicinity. Not only is trouble in operating furnace doors thus escaped, but furtherdoors nor any other part will meet with obstructions and come to a fixed position, thereby causing thearmature to burn out or cause any of the other injuries to which electric motors are sensible whenever too great a resistance is imposed thereon. Another feature It will be seen that, with the particularwhich renders it practicable to use an electric motor'is that of the connections being such that the motor may be operated always in the same direction, thus permitting the engineer to disregard any reversing means and iohave the apparatus in its simplest form. Thus I have an installation which has the merit 0t mechanically operating each door independently of the others, of operating the doors in such manner that they cannot become jammed by the operating motor at either extremity of their path of movement, of being free from the liabilit y of the connecting parts sticking through expansion due to heat, of being free from projecting parts. of having perfect connection with a stationary controller while the furnace may be moved or tilted to any practical extent, and oi enabling the en,- gineer to employ an electric motor which may be operated always in the same direction and without liability to injury through undue resistance. Other advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. A furnace having a reciprocating door and a motor for moving the door carried by the furnace, a member adapted to be successively and indefinitely rotated by said motor and a connection between the door and the said motor, and a connection between the closure and said member and pivotally connected to the latter.

4. Furnace apparatus comprising a reciprocating closure and a motor [or moving the closure, a rotatable member connected to said motor and adapted to be given thereby a plurality of rotations in the same direction, a connection: pivotally secured to said rotating member and also secured to said closure, said rotating member being mounted to allow a FulFreciprocation of the closure connection upon each full rotation of said member.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. CROMWELLV Witnesses ll. DQISMITH, .T. M. WoonwARD. 

